Hose such as socks are normally knitted as an elongated tube or sleeve with both longitudinal extremities left open. This elongated sleeve or blank can be considered the precursor of a sock with its toe end open. The sock blank is generally knitted right side out with its end opposite the toe, the welt of the sock, having a finished edge or hem. To complete the manufacture, the sock must be everted, or turned inside out, and the toe end stitched closed.
A sock can of course be everted by hand without the use of any apparatus, but such a method is inefficient for the mass production of socks. A sock blank is therefore generally everted with the use of a vacuum tube, a tube having a free open end and having a vacuum applied at the other. The blank is positioned partially within this vacuum tube, toe end first. The top of the sock or welt end is turned over the edge of the tube's open end and then slid along the outside of the tube. The toe end is drawn back towards the open end of the vacuum tube. The blank is everted when the toe end reaches the open end of the vacuum tube. It is common then to clamp the toe end in preparation for sewing or stitching the toe end closed.
Most all of these steps or select ones thereof can be done mechanically, and of course any of these steps can be done manually. Regardless of whether done mechanically or manually, this method of everting socks is nonetheless time consuming, requiring two distinct and unrelated steps, i.e., placing the toe end of the sock within the vacuum tube and drawing the welt end along the outside of the tube. Moreover, the turning of the welt end around the edge of the open end of the vacuum tube while a vacuum is being applied is a troublesome step that must be done with care to avoid the entire sock blank from being drawn into the vacuum tube. Although mechanical fingers for drawing or pulling the sock down the tube are known, they are not suitable for the prior step of turning the welt end over the edge of the vacuum tube.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new method of and apparatus for everting a hose blank that does not require application of vacuum during the everting process. It is an object of the invention to provide such a method and apparatus by which a hose blank can be everted simply and efficiently regardless of whether done manually or mechanically. It is an object to provide a method of and apparatus for everting a hose blank which can be performed by mechanical fingers well known to those skilled in the art and requires only a single function and the reversal thereof.